1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a thrust bearing or axial journal bearing, in particular for slow-running machines, predominantly for the rotating hoods or the rotatable storage bodies of regenerative heat exchangers.
The invention relates particularly to large-area plain thrust bearings which can be subjected to high loads, which can also be operated in the field of mixed friction and in which a basic body, e.g. a ring or ring sector, bears sliding shoes uniformly disposed in a peripheral and possibly also in a radial direction, on which a plane bearing surface is supported.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thrust bearings and axial journal bearings of this type are already known under the name "Wulfel RD thrust bearings", in which the sliding shoes have a round running surface and are supported, through the intermediary of cup springs, with limited possibility of tilting motion in bearing rings serving as support bodies. If necessary, a plurality of support rings bearing sliding shoes may also be disposed concentrically, one within the other in order to increase the size of the active bearing and running surfaces.
Similar thrust bearings or axial journal bearings in which a relatively large number of sliding shoes with round running surfaces are incorporated distributed over annular sections of the base bodies and in this case lie on pitch circles disposed concentrically one within another are, as so-called plug bearings, already also state of the art.
Thrust bearings and axial journal bearings of this type have proved to be satisfactory in practical use. It has been found, however, that in these thrust bearings and axial journal bearings of the prior art, on account of the circular shape of the sliding shoes, the ratio of the bearing surfaces to the intermediate spaces adjacent to them proves to be very unfavourable, so that when as large as possible a bearing running surface of the sliding shoes must be available this can be achieved only by correspondingly larger dimensions of the entire bearing diameter.
The invention is based on the problem of providing a thrust or journal bearing of the generic type in which a favourable ratio of the bearing running surfaces formed by the sliding shoes to the intermediate spaces adjacent to them is obtained without this causing any deterioration in running properties as compared with known designs, especially in the range of so-called mixed friction.